Gaard



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

STAUG-AARD.

, WIRE STRETOHER. No. 324.893. Patented Aug. 25,1885.

Mamas- (No Model.)

3 Shee'fjssheet 2. H. H. STAUGAARD.

WIRE STRETGHER. No. 324,893.

Patented Aug. 25,1885.

J59 U axial I {EMS N, PETERS. PhowLilho m har.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

H. H. STAUGAARD.

WIRE STRETOHER.

: No. 324,893. Patented Aug. 25, 1885.

r rrtcn.

HANS HANSEN STAUGAARD, ()F SYOAMORE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ABRAM ELLWOOD, OF SAME PLACE.

WlRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 324,893, dated August 25, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HANs HANSEN STAU- GAARD, residing at Sycamore, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in the WireStretchers, of which the following is a full description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l is a side elevation of the complete tighten or with the attachingchain broken out;

, Fig. 2, an edge elevation with the wire clamps removed; Fig. 3, a side elevation ofthe ratch et bar; Fig. 4, elevations of the draw-rod;

Fig. 5, an end elevation with the ratchet-bar in section; Figs. 6, 7, and 8, details of the block or head for operating the tail'end of the dogs; Figs. 9, 10, and 11, details of the head and lever carrying and operating the dogs;

Figs. 12 and 13, details showing the position of the lever-dogs and tail-block at the limit ot' the forward and backward movement of 1 ment to the lever, and having at its other end the lever, respectively. Fig. Lt is a detailed View of the wire-gripper.

This invention relates to that class of wirestretchers in which a central draw-rod connected with a lever carrying dogs working on opposite edges of a ratchet-bar furnish'the means for drawing the wire taut in connec- 0 tion with holdingclamps, and has for its objects to improve the construction of the ratchet-bar; to improve the location and operation of the central drawrod and the lever by means of which such draw-rod is worked 5 to 5 improvethe operation of the dogs by insuring their engagement alternately with oppoposite sides of the ratchet-bar; to improve the coacting relation between the several parts; to improve the attachment of the 40 dogs with the lever or lever-cheeks, and prevent the overscrewing of the pivotal bolts l'rom ai'lecting the working oi the dogs, and to improve generally the construction and operation of the stretcher as a whole; and its 5 nature consists in the several parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims as new.

In the drawings, A represents the ratchetbar, provided with notches a on its edges, which notches may be arranged in line crosswise, or arranged shown in Fig. 3. This bar is to be made of wrought-iron, steel, or other suitable material with acentral depressed portion running nearly its entire length, and having its forward end A turned at right angles, or nearly so, to the bar, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and through this end in line with the depressed portion or recess in the bar itselfis a hole, a, and at the opposite end of the ratchet-bar in line with the central recess is a hole, a.

B is the recess formed by the central depressed portion in the bar A, which recess is of sufficient depth for the diameter of the draw rod, and as shown, the metal at the forward or draw end of the depressed portion is cut out to leave an opening, b, coinciding with the hole a.

(l is the draw-rod, also made of wroughtiron, steel, or other suitable material, and ofa diameter to fit withinthe recess B, passing through the hole a, and having at one end a turned portion, 0, to form the pivot for attachan eye, 0; for the attachment of a wire-clamp, and, as shown, the hole 0 enables the eye 0 to be drawn in, thus extending to that extent the length of draw of the rod 0.

D is the main or handle portion of the le- Ver, and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, this handie portion extends up and i'ozms one of the cheeks between which the dogs are pivoted, the other cheek being formed in this arrange ment by a piece, I), the inner end of which, as shown in Fig. 5, rests on a ledge or stop, cl and this side or cheek D, has a rounded-out portion, 1)", to form a cavity on the inner face for the reception of the depressed portion of the ratchet-bar, as shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11, the arm or lever portion 1) fits between the ends of the cheeks or sides I) and D and is secured in place by bolts, (1 and in this form of construction ledges d with shaped notches are formed on the inner face of the check I) to receive \l-shaped .projeta tions 1}, projecting out from the inner face of 60 of the ratchet-bar.

l'nes. The. check or side D at its forward edge in line with the depression B, when the lever is in position for use on the ratchet-bar, is provided with a hole, (I, to receive the pin v5 or turned end 0 of the draw-rod (1, thus bringing the attaching'pointof the draw-rod to the actuating-lever at the center, giving a true and perfect center draft from the lever for drawing on the drawrod, and also bringing the pivotal 1o connection of the drawrod to thelever on the interior of the lever, and aiding in maintaining a center line of draft in use. The stop or rest 01', in the form of construction shown in Fig. 5, is in the shape of a loop, the opening of which receives the end of the cheek or side D and with this form of construction the arm or lever D and the side or cheek D arein a continuous piece, and the \/-shaped notches are formed on the interior of the piece or check D while theV-shaped projections are formed on the interior face of the cheek D; but in ggboth forms of construction the check D is to have a depressed portion, D for the reception of the depressed portion of the ratchet-bar,

and each check at its rear edge, to the width of the ratchet-bar, is provided with an ear, D, in which is a slot, 01, struck on the arc of a circle from the center of the opening cl.

E is the dogs, two being used, one for each 0 side of the ratchet-bar, and each pivoted by a bolt, e, between the cheeks or sides D and D for the acting end 0 of each pawl to engage with its coacting notches on the edges of the ratchetbar, as shown in Fig. 1, and the tail- 5 end 0 of each dog extends some distance to the rear of the actuat:ng-lever to form arms or levers by which, in connection with a head, hereinafter described, the engaging ends are thrown into engagement or locked/out of en- .40 gagement by the movement of the actuatinglever. Each dog on its side at its pivotal point is provided with bosses 0 which enter recesses 6 formed in the inner face of the checks or sides D D and these bosses and 4 5 recesses take all over-straining or drawing from off the bolts 0, so that the dogs will be free to swing.

F is a block or head having a longitudinal recess, F, as shown in Fig. 7, for the passage 0 of the ratchet'bar, and one wall ofthe head or j, which enters the recess d in the ears D,

so that by the movement of the lever D the block is given a rocking movement 011 the ratchet-bar, for which purpose the width of the slot in the block is greater than the width At the rear end of the head or block, on each edge, is an extended portion, j, which forms a rest to engage the tailend c of each dog, to raise the tail-end and throw in the acting end to engage the notches a, and this raising of the tail-end is further assisted by the rocking movement given to the head or block F by the slot d and pin j, which throws out the rear end of the head or block alternately with the forward and back movement of the lever D, and when not engaged the rest ffor each tail 0 holds the tail up, preventing the acting end of the dog from being thrown too far out.

G is an arm, having at one end an eye, g, to hook into the eye 0 of the draw-rod O, and having at its outer end a flange, 9, the inner face of which, as shown, is curved.

H is an arm or lever pivoted at h to the outtr end of the arm G, and having a curved flange to project over the curved face of the flange g, and a curved face to bite and hold the wire between the two faces, and having also a handle portion, h by which the bitingfaces can be thrown open or closed. These arms G H together form a wire-clamp.

l is a stirrup or loop attached to the rear end of the ratchet-bar A by a pin, 1', passing through the hole a.

J is an arm or plate having an eye, j to receive the loop I, and having at its outer end a flange, j, and a curved inner face, as shown.

K is an arm or lever pivoted at k to the arm J, and having a curved face, is, to coact with the curved face of the end of J to bite and hold the wire, and having a handle, by which the curved faces can be made acting and non acting. These parts J K together form a wire-clamp for attaching the stretcher to the wire while the clamp G H is attached to the wire for the purpose of drawing the wire taut through the draw-rod O.

L is a chain having a hook, L, by which the wire-stretcher can be attached to a post or other support, for the purpose of drawing the wire taut, the chain being passed around the post and the hook L slipped into the proper link of the chain to make a secure attachment to the post.

The operation will be readily u 1iderstood from the foregoing description. The stretcher is attached to a post or' other support by the chain Land hook L, and the wire-clamp J K, made to bite the wire back of the post, and the wire-clamp G H to bite the wire forward, the draw rod 0 being extended or projected to its full length, in which position the lever and dogs and head or block F are at the extreme forward end of the ratchet-bar, and with the attachment in the position shown in Fig. 1, the forward movement of the lever throws the under dog into engagement at its forward or acting end, a, with an under notch, a, so that with the continued forward movement the rod 0 is drawn back,the slide or head F also going back to thelimit of the forward movement ofthe lever, in which position the upper dog, i will have its acting end 6 thrown into en gagemcnt with an upper notch, a, so that on the backward movement of the lever D the draw rod and head will be forced bac'k, such forcing back of the draw-rod and head occurring with each forward and backward movement of the lever until the limit of the ratchet-teeth is reached,when,ifthc wire is notsufliciently taut,

the wire clamp G [I is released, and the dogs and heads again carried forward and the wireclamp G H again made to bite the wire, and the dogs moved back on the ratchetbar until the desired degree of tautness for the wire is reached.

As shown in Fig. 1, the handle D is down, but the handle D could be turned to stand up by reversing the bar A, the opera ionin either case being the same, so far as the drawing back of the rod 0 is concerned, by the engagement of the dogs with the ratchet-bar, as when the lever D is down, and the same result is also attained with the edge of the ratchet-bar standing horizontal and the lever lying horizontal, instead of vertical, or, in other words, the device is operative in whatever position the ratchetbar, lever, and dogs may stand, as no matter what the position of the 1 arts may be, the head or block F will act to throw the forward or acting end of the dogs into engagement with the ratchetbar,

and such throwing in is ensured by the rock ing movement of the head or block by its connection through the slot (1 and pin f with the side pieces or checks of the actuating-lever; and no matter what the position of the attachment may be the line of draft will be a straight one and through the center of the attachment, by reason of the connection of the draw-rod on the interior of the actuatinglever ata point in line with the longitudinal center of the ratchet-bar. The slot (1 in the lever permits of a greater throw of the lever, either forward or back, before operating the tail-block by engaging the pin f, and by this arrangement the dogs are carried past the notches on the bar A and allowed to drop in the next succeeding notch, and a longer throw can be given to the lever before the block acts on the dog, thus enabling alonger space on the ratchet-bar to be covered with each movement ot the lever than it the tail-block were attached to the actuating lever without the slot (1, and by the arrangement of lever, dogs, and tail'block shown, the necessity of maintaining the lever'center in an exact line with the center of the ratchetbar, to hold the dogs out of engagement, is obviated, as the slot cl allows the tail-block to assume a normal position before the lever is straight, thereby disengaging the dogs and allowing the drawing devices to be advanced for the next operation of the stretcher. The depression at the center of the ratchet-bar longitudinally adds increased strength to the bar, so that a very thin, flat bar can be used without liability of springing in use, as would be the case it a thin flat bar without the groove were used, and with a thin flat bar, it it becomes bent, it is impossible to operate the dogs, but this objection cannotoccur with the depressed bar, as it will not bend under ordinary usage, and if a heavy bll were used sufficient to stand the strain in use, it would make the stretcher, as a whole, very heavy and cumbersome to operate.

I am aware of the invention of Andrew J. Upham, filed April 29, 1884., Serial No. 129,793, and do not claim anything that is shown or claimed therein.

What I claim as new, and desire 'to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bar, A, having ratchetteeth on opposite edges and a central longitudinal depression, B, and a draw-rod fitting in said depression, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. The bar A, having ratchet-teeth on opposite edges, and a central depression, B, and formed with a turned end, A, in combination with a draw-rod, G, fitting in said depression and passing through end A", substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The ratchet-bar A, provided with a central groove or recess, B, and draw-rod G, located in the recess, incombination with an actuating-lever, to which the draw-rod is centrally pivoted, substantially as described.

4.. The actuating-lever having its sides or checks formed with interior recesses, in combination with a pawl having bosses on its sides fitting in said recesses, and a pivotbolt passed through the lever and paw], substantially as described. 5

5. The ratchet-bar A, provided with a groove or recess, 13, and rod 0, in combination with a lever having sides or checks, and dogs E, acting on opposite sides of the ratchetbar, for ensuring a central line of draft for the draw-rod, substantially as specified.

6. The combination, in a wire-stretcher, of a ratchet-bar, a hollow oscillitatin g head receiving and sliding on said bar, an actuatinglever carrying pawls and oscillating the head for eausin g it to alternately bear against the tail-ends of the pawls, and a draw-rod moving longitudinally on the rack-bar, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the bar having ratchets on. opposite edges of the operatinglever 1), formed with check D and having cheek D secured thereto, and the two dogs pivoted to said lever to engage with the ratchets of said bar, snbstantiallyas described. 1 1 5 8. The combination, with the ratchet-bar A, of the operating-lever D, formed with checks D D, each having an ear, 1), formed with a slot, at, the head F, provided with pins fit ting in said slots, and dogs E, pivoted to said lever, substantially as described.

ll ANS ll ANSEN STAUGA ARD.

Witnesses:

J. E. ELLwoon,

t. ELLwooD. 

